USPS and 4 State Barcodes in LEADTOOLS

LEADTOOLS supports several 2-state and 4-state barcode symbologies employed throughout the world by various post mail office systems. These barcodes are comprised of bars of different heights as opposed to different widths that most linear 1D barcodes employ. 2-state barcodes are able to encode the digits 0-9 and are effectively used for zip codes, routing and tracking numbers while 4-state barcodes can encode alphanumeric characters and can encode the entire address information.

LEADTOOLS USPS and 4-State Barcode SDK Symbols

Postal Numeric Encoding Technique (POSTNET)

Sample Barcode:

POSTNET was developed by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to represent the 5 or 9 digit ZIP code or an 11 digit "Delivery Point Code" of US destination addresses. A POSTNET symbol may be printed upon an envelope and be used to facilitate faster sorting of mail. These symbols are printed upon flat pieces of mail such as magazines and envelopes.

Post Alpha Numeric Encoding Technique (PLANET)

Sample Barcode:

PLANET is similar to POSTNET in that it uses half and full height bars to encode data, always begins and ends with a full bar and digits are represented using a two of five code. The major difference between POSTNET and PLANET is that in POSTNET full bars represent "on" bits while in PLANET full bars represent "off" bits. PLANET is used by the United States Postal Service to identify and track mail during delivery.

USPS 4-State Customer Barcode (USPS4CB) / Intelligent Mail Barcode

Sample Barcode:

Intelligent Mail Barcode, more commonly known as 4-State Customer Barcode or USPS4CB, is a 65-barcode used by the United States Postal Service for domestic delivery. It is designed to provide improved functionality and information than its predecessors POSTNET and PLANET. It effectively combines the routing ZIP code and tracking information into a single barcode.

Royal Mail (RM4SCC) / CBC (Customer Barcode)

Sample Barcode:

The RM4SCC symbol is used by the Royal Mail Cleanmail service. The Royal Mail Service has specific requirements placed upon this symbol to ensure maximum readability and efficiency during the mail routing process.

Australian Post - 4 State

Sample Barcode:

Australian Post - 4 State is used by Australia Post for Postal code and automatic mail sorting. Australia Post has chosen the 4-State barcode, a derivation that is already used successfully by other postal administrations. It comprises four types of bars (the four states), each of which has a distinct name, value and barcode symbol.